help needed: dvd-rw

[FadedOne]

Aight..i'm really not sure whether this problem is resolve-able, but I need to ask anyway.
My computer has a dvd-rw drive that I use semi-frequently to make data dvds for storage and uch. I'd been having a bit of trouble with the drive not recognizing music CDs, but taht was only occasional.

Well, this last week it's decided to refuse to create any dvds. at all. I've been using Sonic program and the disc will write about 25% or so and then stop, eject the dvd-r, and ask for a new disc saying this one is no good. Between my dad and I , we've managed to kill about 10 blank dvds trying to make it work. very frustrating.

This would be a typical computers-are-evil issue and i'd probably just fume and accept the problem but uh, I REALLY need this drive right now. I'm going to college mid-August and getting a laptop for convenience/portability's sake. I've managed to rip almost my whole CD collection to the computer. A collection which I now can't get off onto storage as data dvds like i'd planned. So yeah...15 or so gb of music(plus anime stuff which is probably another 20gb) that will have to be transported onto the laptop and take FOREVER and probably bog things down. bleh.

ok, so I admit that was a total rant...but yes, if someone has suggestions or could just pray that I can get the drive working for at least a few days, that would be so great. b/c yeah..this is really frustrating and seems impossible to fix. anyways...thanks for reading, and suggestions welcome. and for the record, we did try stuff like changing the write-speed and cleaning the drive and such. no dice...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

try nero!

http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html

of course... its a free trial...

if it works let us know!

[shooraijin]

Really, this sounds like a hardware problem. How well does it *read* DVDs? Can you play movies properly, jump chapters, ... ?

[FadedOne]

^ at the moment, the drive refuses to even recognize CDs. It doesn't even show up under 'My Computer'. Hardware issue is very likely. Honestly I'm not sure how old this drive is or what brand(i imagine i can find out if you want to know) but yeah...I didn't think it was old enough to just die like this. lol, guess I was wrong.
Right now i'm hoping to get lucky and have the thing randomly miraculously work for a day or two so I can accomplish what I need. granted the chances of that are rather slim... =/

Ryan: hey...if my drive does end up reviving, I probably will try that Nero thing. i've heard it's good. thanks for the link.

[shooraijin]

I think that's as much as you could hope for. It might be worth getting an external FireWire DVD-RW drive, because at least you could use that with your new computer.

[Animaster07]

Hey there! I had some trouble with that 2! Except mine was with a brand new dvd burner. I upluggd it and pluggd it back in and it workd. You can try puttin one of thoses dvd cleaners in it and maybe that would work. And if that doesn't work i would go 2 best buy and buy a new 1 4 like $70 and install it urself. My brand is a cyberhome and it works awesome. I got mine on sell but i'm sure u can find one 4 $70 or cheaper. All u g2 do is unplugg the old one and plug in the new 1. Its that ez, hope that helps...

[shooraijin]

Yes, but she said she already tried to clean it, and that she'll be transferring the stuff to a laptop, so buying a new DVD drive for the computer she won't be using seems wasteful.

[Animaster07]

Do you think she could network the computers 2gether and transfer the data that way??

[shooraijin]

That's possible. How about that, FadedOne? Do they both have Ethernet ports? You could connect a crossover cable between them and use Windows File Sharing to get one to the other (I assume they are both Windows PCs).

[Animaster07]

Yeah thats ez all u need is a ethernet cable and plug them into each computer and then setup the network. With windows itz vry ez 2 network. Glad to help i'm here every Friday! lol j.k God bless!!

[FadedOne]

That's possible. How about that, FadedOne? Do they both have Ethernet ports? You could connect a crossover cable between them and use Windows File Sharing to get one to the other (I assume they are both Windows PCs).

*nod* I was really worried about this lately but my Dad said he thinks we can transfer all of this stuff to the new computer(hopefully buying tomorrow. ) without it taking forever like I feared. Then I can use the new laptop dvd-rw drive to free up space. lol, totally sets my mind at ease. Granted..i'm not sure my Dad knows we're talking almost 50gb of transfer here. o.o (15 for music, lots of data files and stuff, and then my collection of video files, *cough*unlicensed fansub anime *cough*, pictures, art, etc) but hm...maybe I can trim that down somewhat uninstalling stuff.

anyways yeah..just wish me luck that this works ok. The drive still refuses to even accept it's own existence and wont recognize any CDs or DVDs whatsoever. oddness.

thanks shoorajin, animaster, and anyone else who's commented so far. much appreciation!